After Suguru left, Aoi Kanemori remained rooted to the spot, her heart filled with shock and lingering fear.
She never could have imagined that the two men who had been politely competing over Carbink only moments earlier would suddenly erupt into such a violent conflict.
Outside the shop, Ren Hayashi was still curled up on the ground, groaning in pain.
Aoi hesitated for a moment before walking over to check his condition.
Although his interference had irritated her, the sight of him lying there in such a miserable state still stirred a trace of sympathy in her heart.
Besides—
If something truly happened to him, there was no telling whether he might try to hold her nursery responsible.
Aoi crouched beside him and asked softly,
“Are you all right?
Should I call an ambulance?”
Ren painfully raised his head.
His eyes were filled with rage and unwillingness—
But more than anything else, they contained an almost obsessive desire for that Carbink.
“I… I’m fine…”
His voice came out in broken gasps.
“That Carbink… I have to get it…”
Aoi sighed helplessly.
“You should give up.”
“I’ve already sold it to that customer.
Even if you hadn’t been kicked out, I still wouldn’t have sold it to you after making a promise to him.”
“A merchant has to honor her word.”
A trace of despair flashed through Ren’s eyes.
However, it was quickly replaced by renewed determination.
“I… I know…”
“But that Carbink isn’t ordinary.”
“It must be hiding some incredible secret…”
He struggled to stand, only for the pain in his abdomen to overwhelm him.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed back onto the ground.
Seeing his stubborn expression, Aoi could not help becoming curious once more.
Just what was so special about that Carbink?
Why had those two men been willing to go so far for it?
The second aptitude test had clearly shown no improvement.
Yet Suguru had offered twice the asking price, while Ren had gone so far as to raise his offer tenfold.
Had she truly overlooked something extraordinary?
Aoi hurriedly shook her head.
I can’t keep thinking about this.
Otherwise, I’ll start feeling as though I just let an entire mountain of gold slip through my fingers.
Many years later—
When Aoi watched a worldwide broadcast and saw that same handsome customer release a Diancie whose appearance shook the entire world, she finally understood exactly what she had missed that day.
It had not been a mere mountain of gold.
It had been—
A road leading directly to the Champion tier.
…
By the time Suguru returned home in Shirogane City with Carbink, it was already late at night.
The return trip from Ankei had taken several more hours.
“Garde.”
Gardevoir greeted him the moment he entered the house.
Welcome home, my second little treasure.
Are you hungry?
Shall I make you a late-night meal?
“Yes, please, Gardevoir.”
Suguru nodded.
He had not even eaten dinner. Get faster updates on g.com.
Having been raised on Gardevoir’s cooking since childhood, Suguru’s palate had long since become hopelessly spoiled.
Her cooking was even better than that of chefs who prepared meals for national banquets.
Suguru could certainly eat food prepared outside the estate.
However, whenever returning home for a meal was an option, he would always choose Gardevoir’s cooking.
That naturally made her extremely happy.
After all, what “mother” would not feel pleased when her child preferred the meals she prepared?
While Gardevoir went to the kitchen, Suguru brought Carbink upstairs to his room.
He released it from its Poké Ball.
Pop.
Carbink appeared in a flash of light.
It remained just as weak and listless as it had been at the nursery.
Carbink seemed to understand that the human before it was now its Trainer.
Perhaps afraid that Suguru would dislike its sickly appearance, it forced itself upright and tried its best to appear healthy.
Its crystalline body trembled slightly, yet it still attempted to float with energy.
Suguru’s expression softened.
“You’re a strong little one.”
He gently stroked the top of Carbink’s head.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’ll cure you.”
Carbink’s present condition was entirely the result of the mutation taking place inside its body.
If it endured the process successfully, then one day it might undergo a complete transformation and become the Mythical Pokémon Diancie.
It would be no different from a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.
But if it failed—
The best outcome would be a serious illness.
At worst, it would die during the mutation.
Suguru opened the System Shop and purchased a Mutation Elixir.
The other method listed by the system could increase Carbink’s success rate only to seventy-five percent.
The Mutation Elixir, however, guaranteed success.
Unfortunately, its price was painfully high.
Suguru had been carefully saving his System Points for quite some time, yet a single bottle consumed ten thousand of them.
He had possessed only twelve thousand points in total.
In one purchase, almost all his savings disappeared.
Suguru took out the Mutation Elixir and held it before Carbink.
“Eat this.”
“Once you do, you’ll start feeling better.”
Suguru and Carbink had known each other for less than an hour.
Furthermore, Carbink was a Rock- and Fairy-type Pokémon.
Suguru’s Perfect Steel Heart held absolutely no attraction for it.
At present, they could essentially be considered complete strangers.
However, the moment Carbink looked at the small bottle, every instinct in its body began screaming.
Eat it.
Eat it!
Its instincts told it that the object before it would not only cure its mysterious “illness,” but also grant it an unimaginable benefit.
Carbink did not hesitate for long.
It opened its mouth and swallowed the entire Mutation Elixir—
Bottle and all.
The container was as soft as tofu and dissolved the moment it entered Carbink’s body, so it caused no harm whatsoever.
Not long after consuming the elixir, Carbink felt a soothing warmth spread throughout its entire body.
Immediately afterward, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness struck it.
Its eyes slowly closed.
Then, still floating beside Suguru’s bed, Carbink fell into a deep sleep.
Suguru activated the system and scanned it.
Pokémon Status
Name: Carbink
Type: Rock/Fairy
Level: 6
Aptitude: Ace Grade
Ability: Clear Body
Held Item: None
Gender: Genderless
Natural Moves: Tackle, Harden, Guard Split
TM Moves: None
Inherited Moves: None
Special Note:
A Mutation Elixir has been consumed.
Mutation Progress: 1%.
Mutation Progress is continuing to increase.
Once it reaches 100%, Carbink will successfully mutate into Diancie.
Additional Mutation Elixirs may be used to accelerate Mutation Progress.
…
Suguru stared at the information panel in stunned silence.
“So I was thinking about it too simply…”
He had assumed that feeding Carbink a single Mutation Elixir would immediately transform it into Diancie.
Clearly, that was not how it worked.
Carbink could only become Diancie once its Mutation Progress reached one hundred percent.
And if he wanted it to reach that point, he would have to continue providing Mutation Elixirs along the way.
The fact that Carbink had begun mutating did not mean the process would naturally succeed.
Without outside assistance, there was a strong possibility that its transformation would stall at some point and never progress any further.
“I wonder how much progress a single Mutation Elixir can provide…”
Suguru muttered to himself.
At that moment, Gardevoir’s voice came from downstairs, calling him to eat.
Suguru recalled the sleeping Carbink into its Poké Ball and immediately rushed out of his room.
He was genuinely starving.
“Garde!”
Slow down!
Don’t fall!
Seeing Suguru race down the stairs, Gardevoir scolded him in exasperation.
The late-night meal she had prepared was simple.
A bowl of wontons covered in fragrant chili oil—
And a glass of fresh Moomoo Milk.
The mild spiciness rising from the wontons mixed with the rich, sweet aroma of the milk.
Suguru, who was already famished, instantly felt even hungrier.
He sat down and began eating the wontons one after another.
“Garde.”
Eat more slowly.
They’re hot.
“It’s fine, Gardevoir.”
Suguru swallowed another wonton without the slightest difficulty.
“They don’t feel hot to me.”
Ever since his Physique had been strengthened twice, his body had improved dramatically.
Even his tolerance for heat and pain had risen considerably.
In the past, if Suguru placed a wonton this hot into his mouth, he would have spat it out almost immediately.
Now, however—
The temperature felt no different from drinking a cup of ordinary warm water.